Symantec to Enter Encryption Market
Symantec, company that specializes in providing antivirus, antispyware, and internet security software solutions, is looking to expand its offerings. The company recently announced that it will pay $370 million to acquire PGP and GuardianEdge Technologies, two companies that provide encryption technology. Symantec will pay $300 million in cash for PGP and $70 million in cash for GuardianEdge. This marks Symantec’s entry into the encryption market, a market that IDG estimates will reach $1.7 billion in 2013.
Definitive agreements between Symantec and the two encryption technology providers have been signed. The deal is expected to go through during the company's June quarter. The agreements are subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
"What I really like about these acquisitions is that they go well beyond PC full-disk encryption alone. With PGP and GuardianEdge, Symantec gets a geographically-dispersed install base, a leading standards-based key management platform, a PKI SaaS offering, a strong government presence, and encryption coverage from mobile devices to mainframes. Yesterday, Symantec was lagging in encryption and key management and today, with PGP and GuardianEdge, it is now able to provide leading solutions worldwide," commented Principal Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, Jon Oltsik.
Until now, Symantec did not put a lot of focus onto encryption. This has all changed with the acquisition of PGP and GuardianEdge, two privately-held leaders in the email and data encryption market. Symantec already provides endpoint security and data loss prevention. By integrating the standards-based encryption capabilities of PGP and GuardianEdge, Symantec will have “the broadest set of integrated data protection solutions.” All major customer segments, from individuals and small businesses to large enterprises and governments, will find in Symantec all the tools they need to stay safe and protected.
“As information becomes increasingly mobile, it’s essential to take an information-centric approach to security. Our market-leading data protection solutions provide the intelligence for customers to better understand what data is important, who owns it and who accesses it,” said Senior Vice President, Enterprise Security Group at Symantec, Francis deSouza. “With these acquisitions we can further protect information by using encryption in an intelligent and policy-driven way to give the right users access to the right information, enabling the trust that individuals and organizations need to operate confidently in an information-driven world. We’re now able to offer the industry’s most comprehensive solution across encryption and data loss prevention for protecting confidential data on endpoints, networks, storage systems and in the cloud.”
Definitive agreements between Symantec and the two encryption technology providers have been signed. The deal is expected to go through during the company's June quarter. The agreements are subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
"What I really like about these acquisitions is that they go well beyond PC full-disk encryption alone. With PGP and GuardianEdge, Symantec gets a geographically-dispersed install base, a leading standards-based key management platform, a PKI SaaS offering, a strong government presence, and encryption coverage from mobile devices to mainframes. Yesterday, Symantec was lagging in encryption and key management and today, with PGP and GuardianEdge, it is now able to provide leading solutions worldwide," commented Principal Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, Jon Oltsik.
Until now, Symantec did not put a lot of focus onto encryption. This has all changed with the acquisition of PGP and GuardianEdge, two privately-held leaders in the email and data encryption market. Symantec already provides endpoint security and data loss prevention. By integrating the standards-based encryption capabilities of PGP and GuardianEdge, Symantec will have “the broadest set of integrated data protection solutions.” All major customer segments, from individuals and small businesses to large enterprises and governments, will find in Symantec all the tools they need to stay safe and protected.
“As information becomes increasingly mobile, it’s essential to take an information-centric approach to security. Our market-leading data protection solutions provide the intelligence for customers to better understand what data is important, who owns it and who accesses it,” said Senior Vice President, Enterprise Security Group at Symantec, Francis deSouza. “With these acquisitions we can further protect information by using encryption in an intelligent and policy-driven way to give the right users access to the right information, enabling the trust that individuals and organizations need to operate confidently in an information-driven world. We’re now able to offer the industry’s most comprehensive solution across encryption and data loss prevention for protecting confidential data on endpoints, networks, storage systems and in the cloud.”
